GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida baseball is just two weeks away from starting its 2020 season. The Gators pitchers have been waiting for this moment since the final pitch was thrown last spring.

According to them, they are out to right a wrong.

“I think everyone’s kind of pissed off about last year on the pitching end," said pitcher Jack Leftwich. "The hitters did really good, but it was kind of on our shoulders."

Leftwich is correct.

It was not the most ideal season on the mound for Florida. The Gators finished second-to-last in the SEC with a cumulative 5.37 ERA and failed to make it past the NCAA Regionals.

"This was the hardest working team I've seen in the weight room in my three years here," said Leftwich. "We really went all out in the fall and really it's a team thing. You also have to take pride and getting your work in because that is going to make everyone better."

"We worked hard on the pitchers and made sure the pitchers got right before this year," said Jud Fabian. "The hitters, we worked on what we did last year. We were pretty good last year.”

The 2019 side was young. The then freshman class was tasked to come in and replace several veterans, so of course there were some growing pains. However, those freshmen are now sophomores in 2020.

“Confidence is the most important thing in baseball,” center fielder Jud Fabian said. “If you have confidence you’re going to be good. I feel like I have my confidence back.”

Fabian is one sophomore looking to lead this group to success this season.

He played in 56 games in his first season as a Gator, starting at 54 of them. He batted .232 on the year with seven home runs, 26 RBI and 7 stolen bases.

He is returning this year not as a fresh faced freshman, but as a player that has been battle tested in college baseball and a player that has experienced playing in the Cape Cod League.

“The Cape really boosted my confidence a lot,” Fabian said. “ I went up there really not knowing what to expect and when I got up there I just played my game and it boosted my confidence a lot coming back here for my sophomore year.”

Fabian echoes Leftwich's sentiment: This team worked hard this offseason to make sure they do not have an early end to their season.

“[The offseason] went really well actually, considering last year we didn’t have the season we really wanted,” said Fabian. “We pushed ourselves in the offseason and got us in shape to where we want to be right now heading into the season.

“We’re just putting in the hours every day, more hours than we did last year to not only make a regional, but win a regional.”

With so much talent returning, the Gators are receiving a lot of preseason hype.

“We look at it a little bit, but at the end of the day you have to go out in the field and play and perform," said Fabian. "Hopefully we’ll play as a team and win a lot of ballgames."

They certainly have the motivation.

"We struggled last year and people didn't like that," said Leftwich. "They will not want that taste in their mouths next year."

Florida’s season begins Feb. 14 at home against Marshall. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.